Page 55 - Rich Dad Poor Dad for Teens: The Secrets about Money--That You Don't Learn in School!

I doubt if anyone can say what really happened to these men. If you
look at the date, 1923, it was just before the 1929 market crash and the
Great Depression, which I suspect had a great impact on these men and

their lives. The point is this: Today we live in times of greater and faster
change than these men did. I suspect there will be many booms and busts in
the next 25 years that will parallel the ups and downs these men faced. I am
concerned that too many people are focused too much on money and not
their greatest wealth, which is their education. If people are prepared to be
flexible, keep an open mind and learn, they will grow richer and richer
through the changes. If they think money will solve problems, I am afraid

those people will have a rough ride. Intelligence solves problems and
produces money. Money without financial intelligence is money soon gone.
Most people fail to realize that in life, it's not how much money you
make, it's how much money you keep. We have all heard stories of lottery
winners who are poor, then suddenly rich, then poor again. They win
millions and are soon back to where they started. Or stories of professional

athletes, who, at the age of 24, are earning millions of dollars a year, and are
sleeping under a bridge by age 34. In the paper this morning, as I write this,
there is a story of a young basketball player who a year ago had millions.
Today, he claims his friends, attorney and accountant took his money, and
now he works at a car wash for minimum wage.
He is only 29. He was fired from the car wash because he refused to
take off his championship ring as he was wiping off the cars, so his story

made the newspaper. He is appealing his termination, claiming hardship and
discrimination and that the ring is all he has left. He claims that if you take
that away, he'll crumble.
In 1997, I know so many people who are becoming instant millionaires.
It's the Roaring '20s one more time. And while I am glad people have been
getting richer and richer, I only caution that in the long run, it's not how

much you make, it's how much you keep, and how many generations you
keep it.
So when people ask, “Where do I get started?” or “Tell me how to get
rich quick,” they often are greatly disappointed with my answer. I simply
say to them what my rich dad said back to me when I was a little kid. “If
you want to be rich, you need to be financially literate.”
That idea was drummed into my head every time we were together. As I

said, my educated dad stressed the importance of reading books, while my